Kingdom Hearts: RE: Birth by Sleep
by RubbyKK
Summary: Sleep can last forever but life cannot. For the lost ones to awaken Sora Kairi and Riku must go on another to save them. Only the task may not be so easy. The truth is rarely so simple when it is so steeped in the shadows of the past. BBS spoilers.
1. Prelude: The Stranger

Disclaimer: If you recognize it as Disney or Square Soft's then it's not mine. This goes for the whole story.

There will be MASSIVE BBS SPOILERS if you don't like it please turn around.

* * *

Kingdom Hearts RE: Birth by Sleep

Prelude: The Stranger

DISNEY CASTLE...

His highness King Mickey of Disney Castle sat in his oversized chair at his oversized desk in a rather vain attempt to get some work done. It had been almost a year since he had returned from his adventure and he was glad to be home but that didn't stop the feeling that it was not over from nagging at the back of his mind. There were simply too many lose ends; too many skeletons left unburied to give the situation any form of resolution.

"You're not the only one that feels it' the undeniable truth that your adventure is not over. The only question now is what are you going to do about it?"

Mickey looked around but there was no one there. The library was empty. Besides, rather than being Donald's squeak or Goofy's drawl, the voice was not one he recognized.

"Who are you?" The mini monarch demanded.

"A friend." To punctuate the response the voice allowed its body to manifest form a dark portal wearing an Organization XIII trench coat. Although Mickey knew that the apparel did not automatically mean one was evil, it did nothing to gain his trust.

Mickey drew his key blade but kept it hidden under the desk just in case. The figure didn't notice it, or if he did, pretended not to. He began to walk around with his hands in his sleeves as he distractedly examined Mickey's collection of books.

"It is time for the lost two to awaken and the Chasers to be given another chance at that which was robbed of them." Whoever he was obviously didn't notice Mickey's confusion because he didn't explain.

"Ansem the Wise has already been taken from the Dark Realm and placed in Radiant Garden where he belongs. Soon the heartless will attack Destiny Islands and all pawns will be in place."

"Sora! Riku!" Mickey exclaimed in worry for his friends, "and what do ya' mean 'pawns'?" Mickey demanded but was again ignored.

"Tell me this though, you knew Roxas had a heart and yet you said nothing. Not to Ansem. Not to Riku. Why? Was it because to explain how it got there and why you said nothing you would have had to explain the Chasers' story? You knew that if the truth was known then they would have tried to save Terra as Riku was saved." Although the words were an accusation the tone was not.

"Save Terra? But he's dead."

"It would seem Aqua didn't fill you in on the complete situation before she left on her mission. Pity. A little bit of knowledge often goes a long ways." The stranger muttered before disappearing again into the darkness, leaving The King to do what he knew he must. Taking a deep breath he reached into the drawer of his desk and pulled out a fresh sheet of paper and a glass bottle.


	2. Chapter one:Dreams of the Crossroads

_**Kingdom Hearts: RE: Birth by Sleep**_

**_Chapter One: Dreams of the Crossroads_**

_**Year 1994 of the Departian Calendar… **_

_Long ago the world was united and filled with warm light_.

It was a dusty, desolate field. The only sign that anyone had ever lived there were a few indistinct ruins. Canyons enclosed the entire area and only parched weeds had managed to squeak by with any semblance of survival.

Ven couldn't help but shutter, for despite the stifling atmosphere this place was a graveyard. Years ago this had been a battle field. Thousands had fought and died over the X-blade. The cycle was to be repeated today only with a smaller number.

_People loved the light, and eventually began fighting over it._

As he walked through the rows of keyblades as dusty and dead as the field itself, he couldn't help but feel his anger rise. All this destruction simply because Master Xehanort had been greedy. He had taken what he wanted without so much as thought as to what the consequences would be for others.

Soon Ven found himself at a set of crossroads between the rows of weapons. In the center stood three blades that looked as dusty and disserted as the others. Ven was not the only person at the crossroads. Terra and Aqua had come like he, in full battle dress, to meet their fate.

_Then, darkness found its way into people's hearts._

Suddenly a sonic boom like sound pierced their helmets. Something was coming. Through the dust it was hard to make out exactly who or what but that didn't matter. They didn't need to see him to know it was Xehanort. As he stepped closer and closer more of his face had could be seen.

He was haggard and old looking, but by no means feeble. His bald head was bent forward but his eyes looked straight ahead. All of this made him look fairly creepy but the one thing that made his appearance all the more cynical was that fact that he was probably no older than sixty but he looked well into his eighties. He must have done so much dark magic that it aged him prematurely.

_Darkness consumed the hearts and light of the people, and in a flash it spread…_

For a second his image flickered and split into two identical visions. The second then quickly shifted into armor like the Chasers wore except more streamlined. Vanitas. It had to be.

Ven had prepared to lunge at the apprentice when a hand stopped him. Of course, the level headed Terra wasn't going to let him rush into things. Then the enigmatic knight did something wholly unexpected: Terra himself took off running as fast as he could to clear the gap between the once friends.

Xehanort and Vanitas stopped just as Terra started to pounce. The old magician simply raised his hand and caused the solid rock in front of him to rise, smashing into Terra midair.

_And the world disappeared into darkness._

Terra buckled and rolled, tying not to break his neck despite the thick armor. He didn't even have a chance to catch his breath before Xehanort raised his arm again. For a moment Terra felt fear trickle down his spine for he was sure that Xehanort was going to raise the ground out from under him a second time and start bouncing him like a rag doll.

That didn't happen. Instead he raised the platform he was on, cutting Terra off from being able to attack or join his friends. He couldn't attack but he could be attacked. Vanitas jumped and on the way down sent a massive jolt of lightning downwards. It was less than one minute into the fight and already his armor had saved him, but the shock had caused massive cracks in it. If he wasn't careful his armor would crumble like clay.

No sooner had the sparks died then he heard a rushing sound. Xehanort had neglected to take into account the chasers own talented magician. Aqua had used her power to raise the earth in a shower of debris catapulting Ven to Terra's level. He didn't even miss a beat as he landed and rush forward.

_But a glimmer of light remained in the hearts of children…_

Ven's oncoming assault was met by Vanitas's blade. From out of nowhere an enormous jut of ice aimed for Vanitas missed by inches and pushed the two combatants apart. Somehow Aqua had found her way up to the second level of the battle field.

Hundreds of feet above, Xehanort flicked his wrist and a hurricane appeared gathering up dozens of the dead keyblades. The hurricane twisted and tuned until it was nothing but a long thin snake then it headed straight down. Vanitas did a side flip and landed on it perfectly as if it were a skateboard.

Vanitas raced neck and neck with Aqua while sending towers of ice and wind to crush her; she dodged every one of them but at this rate, her agility would soon run out. Before she even truly noticed what happened Ven had attacked Vanitas from above, all the while coming to her rescue.

Within seconds Ven had found an opening in Vanitas's seemingly impassible defense and took it. He sent a bolt of lightning straight to the traitor's heart but he missed. Instead, it just got wrapped around his hurricane board, doing nothing. Somehow the fight had gotten to the top tier of the field. Vanitas flew across a huge gape and landed beside his master, Xehanort.

_Children gathered their glimmers of light and recreated the world_.

Ven jumped on the tail of the hurricane, trying to get across but he was unable to keep his balance and fell off right at the edge of the canyon. Unable to grab the side and pull himself up, he fell. About half way down he tried to use his Keyblade to stop. It didn't work, actually all it did was pull a three ton rock down with him.

Aqua jumped, trying to help but the hurricane just drug her back down. The fall cracked her helmet, so now her blue eyes and turquoise hair were visible. While Ven landed on his feet.

He then came over to make sure she was all right, but there was no need. Before she was all the way up she raised her keyblade and sent her personal favorite spell, Reflectga, at Terra. Instantly he was trapped in a glasslike bubble which broke his fall. By then it was too late to notice that the hurricane had came up under him and pushed him up further.

Without so much as a flick of Xehanort's wrist the hurricane stopped and put Terra down right beside him. He charged but that was a bad idea. Xehanort sent a blanket of ice up his right arm freezing it in place. Terra stumbled back and watched as the ice crept even further up his arm.

_The recreated world, however, was no longer united… It was divided into several smaller worlds._

Somehow Ven had gotten up to the top and charged at Xehanort, who just caught the boy's face in his hand and, looking right at Terra, squeezed. The cracking of the helmet sent a chill down Terra's spine. Had it cracked his skull too?

Terra rushed forward desperate to save his friend but Vanitas just bade his pet hurricane to knock him down off the cliff.

Still clutching Ven's face in his hand, Xehanort walked to the edge of the cliff, his apprentice beside him. Making sue Aqua was watching he let out a burst of dark energy that froze Ven's entire body, and then he simply let go. He then watched with a sick kind of pleasure as Ven bushed agents the side of the cliff as he fell, with each contact breaking another chunk off the icicle.

He landed right in front of Aqua. Using his eyes, the only part of him still mobile, he begged her to fix it. To use her magic to make the pain go away but, of course she couldn't, no matter how much she wanted to: she had used all her magic to save Terra before.

_Because the true light was still hidden deep within the darkness…_

**Destiny Islands 2006 D.C…**

"Don't you think it's a little late for you to be out? What's up?" Riku asked his long time friend as he sat down beside him on the sideways tree that had served as 'their' spot for years. Both boys stared out over the ocean bathed in the dark light of the moon. The night was cool and quiet.

"Had a weird dream." Sora replied, slightly distant.

"What about?"

"Well…" as Sora recounted the tail of the Crossroads and the battle he couldn't help but feel a little foolish. As impossible as it sounded, he knew that this was not just a dream.

"So you were in a field full of key blades?" Sora nodded, "Well, I've never heard of anything like that but I do know that we weren't the first."

"So it might not just be a dream?" The hope was evident in the keyblade master's voice.

"Maybe."

"What about you? What are you doing up?" Sora asked, but only got silence from his

friend.

"What's wrong? This isn't like you. You've been acting kind of funny since we got that letter from the King." Riku paused for a moment before answering.

"I've just got this odd feeling like something big is going to happen," he said in a soft almost whisper like voice.

"The letter did say that another adventure was coming." Sora reminded his friend but for some reason he didn't think that that was what Riku was talking about. If that were the case then Riku would have been a little more excited.

"I mean something bigger then that. I'm afraid that if we go on this adventure things will change. And I don't know if it's a good thing or not." Riku elaborated. Sora couldn't help but think that this was very uncharacteristic of Riku to say. Hadn't he been the one so desperate for a change; so desperate to see the worlds?

"Well if the worlds are in trouble then we don't have much of a choice," Sora pointed out.

"I guess not." Riku gave a little smile as he said the words but it did not last. An ear shattering scream from the main island pierced the night and Riku knew that this was it; this was what they had been waiting for.

**Worlds away from our heroes something just as strange was happing**.

In a spotless white room, sat the Oracle. She was a being hailed as all-knowing, but in fact, she was far from it. If she knew everything she would not be in this situation. She would not be in this hell.

Behind her in the bight, white room shadows grew and pooled into a human form. A shadow. It had no distinguishable features other then the outline of its original self. But anyone could tell that it was not the kind of shadows those who battled the dark usually dealt with. He was no heartless. He was something more…so much more.

The shadow walked over and silently sat down beside the statue while resting his elbows on his knees. But just because he made no noise did not mean that he was not noticed. After so long of working together it was easy to tell when words were and were not necessary.

"It is done." He said, his voice gave. It was obvious that whatever was 'done' wasn't something particularly pleasant.

If she could The Oracle would have smiled at his attitude, but she couldn't move a muscle except those needed to speak. She couldn't even see the shadow due to the long cloak hood covering her eyes. All she could see was white. The same white she had seen every second of every day for ten long years.

"Thank you, Mal." She said.

"I don't like this. Was what happened before all for nothing?" He asked.

"If you can just trust me Mal, just for a little while, you and I will be released from our prisons and then we can release and rejoin our friends. You want that, don't you?"

"Aero, of course I trust you, but I still think it was a bad idea to help them. The organization they were ever so loyal to would interfere a little too much with our plains." Mal said looking at her.

"Their loyalty was bought in much the same currency as yours was years ago. Don't forget that. They will also become invaluable allies by leading the keybearers right where we want them. And with them we will be able to break free from our prisons." She said, reminding her friend of exactly what was at stake.

"I still don't like it." The shadow replied. He was a little bitter from her mention of his past, one as dark as his existence now, but he could not help it. She would not have brought up the subject if the point it made was not important.

"Sacrifices must be made." Aero said, her voice slopping into a sad little whisper.

"Sacrifices must always be made. The rewards will be well worth it. " She continued bitterly.

"I do miss being able to see my reflection." Mal admitted with a slight joking nuance to his vice. They both knew his vanity had been his worst vice back in the golden days.

Aero gave a bitter little laugh.

"As don't I… As don't I. But no matter. There is one other thing you must do if we are to receive our rewards."

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AN: The Departian calendar (D.C) is the time scale biased off of the Land of Departure. For simplicity's sake I have made it synonymous with the modern Gregorian calendar which most of the world (save for China, I believe) uses. Normally I would not have put a date, but because of the number of flash backs that are not in chronological order, I felt it was necessary. For future reference KHII takes place in 2005, its original date of publish.


	3. Chapter Two: Treasure Hunt

Chapter Two

Treasure Hunt

Without hesitation both boys began running towards the main island. They didn't even bother with the little boats that had brought them to their hang out; the task of untying them and rowing would take longer than simply swimming.

For the briefest instant Riku was glad that they had insisted on keeping in shape while on the island. Before his stint in darkness he would never have been able swim all that way, run to town and still have enough energy left to fight the infestation of heartless and nobodies that come to the island.

Chaos rained down upon the little town as unprepared citizens were attacked. Some tried to fight but the smart ones fled. These were not things wooden swords and kitchen knives could defeat. These beasts required something a bit more powerful.

Hundreds, possibly thousands, of them were attacking the islanders. And these weren't shadows. These were behemoths and dancers and all other kinds of foul beast that they hadn't had to face until they had reached The End of The World and The World That Never Was.

Riku was a little daunted at the task. Two keyblades against countless higher level enemies did not have the best odds no matter how skilled.

Ignoring the stares of the towns people who obviously didn't believe what little bit the boys had told them about their adventure, Sora and Riku drew their keyblades and let lose. They chose attacks that would take out as many of the creatures as possible but they just kept coming. Riku couldn't tell if it was because the creatures of darkness were just naturally drawn to the keyblades or…

"Damn it! We should have checked on the keyhole while we were there!"

* * *

"Aero, I got what you wanted." Mal announced as he entered the room through the darkness. Long ago, when he had first begun his partnership with the oracle, he had found it unnerving to be in the room at all. During the day bright light poured in through the dozens of arched windows that encompassed every side of the pavilion, leaving only Aero's figure statically commanding the space with her power. During the night, however, the gentle moonlight gave her an almost slumped appearance despite the impossibility of her making any movement.

"Thank you. It will help us."

"I think you're over complicating things. Why are we even bothering to include the ex-organization members?" Mal had always spoken his mind around Aero and this was no exception. There was little hiding his disgust at those beings that had betrayed everything they had cared for and allowed themselves to be torn in two.

"It only takes one bad apple to spoil the lot and the ones we have chosen were the apples at the bottom of the bushel."

"So the taint is less." He knew that his voice was slightly disbelieving and sarcastic but Aero ignored it.

"Exactly." She whispered. It wasn't difficult to guess that she knew something Mal did not. That was her job, but it didn't make the trait any less annoying.

"You're not worried at all that you're wrong. Are you?" Mal asked with a bit of wonder in his voice. It was understandable that she was obsessive about this scheme, but to not doubt its success was idiotic at best even if she could see the future.

"Doubt is a luxury I cannot afford." Her voice had hardened slightly and that simple nuance told Mal everything. If she allowed herself doubt then all the maybes would drive her crazy. There was simply too much on the line.

"I hope you're right. As much as I doubt it, I hope you are."

"Thank you. But Mal, it doesn't matter yet if I'm right or not. All that matters is if we succeed. And for that you need to go to Destiny Islands. The keybearers will need your assistance."

Mal didn't even bother to nod. She wouldn't have been able to see it anyways. He mealy drew the darkness into him and opened a portal into the dark corridors.

"Oh and Mal, you may not like what you find there but you shouldn't be surprised." He gave no indication that heard the girl's words. It was just more riddles, and he could tell by her voice that she would not clarify if he asked. He would find out soon enough anyways.

* * *

Every breath was agony. Riku didn't know how long they had been fighting; it could have been hours or it could have been minutes but either way he knew they couldn't keep it up for much longer. The heartless and nobodies just kept coming. Fighting at the World That Never Was was different: there were no civilians to look after but here if they weren't running they were watching the fight like it was a spectator sport. Luckily the gawkers got the message when a dancer almost took their heads off and scattered.

"Sora! Riku!" a voice called as the last of the creatures was dispatched. Kairi came running down the path towards them and tossed the boys a couple of potions. They didn't cure everything, not even close, but they were appreciated.

As Sora was chugging the last of his a heartless lunged at him. No one noticed except Kairi, but by then it was too late to call out. Sora's eyes went wide and for an instant he stopped breathing. Sensing that something had happened, he turned just in time to see the heartless disappear an inch form his head and a dagger fall to the ground.

"Mom! You could have killed him!" Kairi shouted at the middle aged woman. For the briefest instant the girl thought that this could not be the very same woman who had always told her not to play with sharp objects. Although her mom looked just as she always had, with her red hair and a body that gave no hint to her fifty-two years besides the few lines on her face, there was a certain spark to her blue eyes that was new. It was as if some lost part of the woman had come back to visit for just a moment.

"Do you really think I would have done anything if I didn't know what I was doing?" Miss Izzy answered slightly amused.

"When did you learn to fight?" Sora asked. The woman had never showed any interest in the sparing that all the adults knew happened on the children's island. She had never given any inclination that she knew anything about self defense yet here she was saving the spiky haired boy from a fate worse than death.

"More people know how to fight then you may think." There was a slight unreadable undercurrent to her voice. Like she was hinting at something.

"So I take it this means you are going off on another adventure." the red haired woman asked as she stepped from behind a tree. No one answered; no one had to.

"Very well. Come with me, but keep your keyblades out. Although it feels as if all of those creations are gone, there might be stragglers."

Riku stooped to pick up the dagger. It was an odd little thing; much lighter and sharper than it should have been. The handle and the edges of the blade were lime green with a series of snake like patterns while the body of the blade was dark gray with lime green boxes. As he studied it something caught his eye. Hanging off the handle was a small mirrored disk on a chain. The moment he touched the dagger it disappeared into nothing.

"Riku are you coming?" Sora asked.

"Y…yeah." The dagger's disappearance had unnerved him more then he wanted to admit. He had always suspected Kairi's mom had a secret or two. She had appeared out of nowhere just a day or after her daughter and had seemed to be no stranger to some of the people there. Later, when Riku had finally thought to ask, she refused to say much about her previous home; she dodged the questions. The really weird thing about the whole thing had been the fact that the adults didn't press her. Riku's mom and Sora's dad just let it go as if they already knew the answers.

Riku's mind shifted through all the new information as he walked behind the woman in question. It didn't take them long to make it back to the play island and through the cove to the little forest of coconut trees. At the very last tree, all the way by the cove wall, Izzy stopped. Reaching behind the tree she pulled out two old, rusted shovels. Brush and foliage had grown over them, which told the tail of how long they had been forgotten.

Handing them to the boys she told them to dig. Within moments the shovels bounced off of metal with a sounding cling! They had found whatever they had been looking for. It was a treasure chest; old and dirty.

"You are going to have to use the keyblade to open it. I don't have the key." He voice was calm and nonchalant, as if she were simply oblivious to the question on the children's faces or the complete oddity of the situation.

Sharing a glance with Riku, Sora summoned his keyblade and aimed it at the rusted lock but nothing happened; there was no click, no glowing, and no opening. Whoever had saw fit to bury their treasure had obviously wanted it kept buried.

"Damn." Izzy muttered before giving the chest a swift kick. In a surprising move the top popped open at the abuse.

Although clearly surprised, Izzy knelt down without a word and started rummaging through the chest. Once she had gotten what she wanted out of it she closed the lid and begun to push the pile of upturned dirt back on top of it.

"Mom, what is going on?" Kairi finally demanded as she reached all she could take. She had tried on to ask questions; tried to simply see what her mother would do in a hope that her actions would answer some questions but that didn't happen. There were no answers only more questions.

"I'm giving you something to help. A keyblader can never have too many keychains after all." Izzy was trying to keep things light; trying to direct their attention else were, but it didn't work.

"How did you know…"Sora began. They had never told her about the keychains, among other things. She should not have known they even existed. But here she was handing two of them each to Sora, Riku and Kairi as if they were the something they had simply misplaced.

"Don't ask me that. There are thing you haven't told me about your adventure and I haven't asked. I only ask that you return the favor." Suddenly she was guarded. She did not want to talk about it but she didn't want to lie to them.

"I don't have a keyblade. That one was just lent to me."

Izzy snorted.

"A keyblade can't be lent. If you have one it's yours, no matter how you got it. Only keychains can be lent and even then it's no guarantee that they will work. It all depends on how connected you heart is to the original owners."

"Then how do you know these will work for us?" Riku asked, suddenly apprehensive. For someone who acted so surprised when they had explained their absence, she was privy to a lot of information that even they themselves weren't.

"Oh they'll work."

"Dark's Reprieve has amazing strength but sucks at defense. Destiny's Calling is a bit more balanced," she explained to Riku.

"Star's Decent is good for magic but I don't know much about Heavy Gale. Sorry Sora."

"Fate's Revival is strong with magic, and Earth Shaker will protect you." As she closed her daughter's hand over the tiny boulder shaped bauble, her eyes glistened. Kairi was not the only one to notice the gesture. It was the only form of emotion Izzy had shown as she explained the attributes of the trinkets to their new owners.

The touching moment, however, was not to last. A slight twang and the whistle of an arrow through the air were all the warning the motley little group had of an attack.

Something that was neither completely heartless, nor completely nobody had found them. Its feet did not touch the ground and its wings were made of turkey feathers. But it had no face. Just a blank egg smooth surface with a red crescent moon on its forehead and arrow like tattoos framing where the eyes would have been if it were human.

"Not again!" Sora moaned before the simultaneous summoning of three weapons drowned out everything else and the battle began.

* * *

Special contest:

If you can guess which character was used to create the archer heartless/nobody thingy at the end, then I'll answer one spoiler question.

Hint: He is from a book series and used to be a bad guy (sort of).


	4. Chapter Three: New Friends and Old Enemi

Finally! I know, it's been what three months? What can I say my muse has ADD; badly, but he got a kick in the pants when I saw a really cool youtube video and saw the US release date for BBS. Now I just have to get a psp before then… any ways, if you want to watch the video type in Kingdom hearts shooting stars by TiEoMa. It rocks.

Disclaimer: … enough said.

* * *

**Chapter Three: New Friends and Old Enemies**

Mal ran. Streaking past the miles of burnt homes, destroyed schools and blackened dreams, he was invisible. The shadows gave him shelter in the night as none noticed one that should not have been there; that had no figure to cast it.

Something big was happing by the water; he could smell it. The putrid sent of dark magic and the pain of the subject on which it was cast perforated the air like bullets in a dog fight.

Every instinct in a sane person would be screaming and begging to go in the opposite direction, but Mal was long past sane, at least by normal standards. Seventeen years living with his mother and sister, six years alone in the realm of darkness, and four years following a girl who saw a great portion of the future and used it to further her own agenda had long since saw to that.

As he approached the beach of the mainland it became painfully obvious that the incident was not on the beach, rather it was occurring on the beach of the soppiest isle. Swimming was not the young man's favorite sport by far, partly because of several near death experiences while trying to learn how and partly because of the damage the act caused to his hair.

Unfortunately there was no other option. The keybearers needed his help and they needed it fast. One of their party- a mature woman with red hair- was being tended by the princess. The other two were not faring well. It was a valiant effort but this was not the boys' usual foes.

Mal could tell that in its natural form the creature would never have missed his mark with the bow, but somehow in the process of transforming into whatever it was now, its gift had become tainted. Just because it could no longer hit the kill shot directly, however, did not mean it was untalented.

The boys were constantly moving and the silver haired one-Riku- had taken many hits in defense of his friend. They were panting and tired. This was not the most desired of opponents to face right after the workout they had gotten previously.

The creature took aim and fired. Riku had fallen behind and it was going to take advantage. Mal was quicker. Before the arrow had time to find its new home, he had risen the sand that laid between Riku and his hunter and then sent a massive amount of heat coursing through it.

The arrow pierced the three inch thick slab of glass Mal had created and the creature howled in anger.

"Move! Let me handle this thing!"

Heartless had never spoken before, so suffice it to say the boys were more than a little surprised but something told them that it wasn't as it appears. But then again, when was anything as it appears in their world?

Mal breathed a sigh of relief as the keybearers took his advice. That made his job a bit easier. It was easier for him to do gratuitous violence against his enemies when he did not have to worry about his allies.

The creature turned its attention to Mal and fired. Mal ducked and kept running as it fired half a dozen more arrows. If things kept up at this pace he would never be able to fire a spell back for it was almost impossible to run and cast at the same time.

Unbidden, a thought crossed his mind. An unwelcome and terrifying thought, but he knew what he had to do.

Turning he squared his stance and let the spell go at the same time an arrow found a new sheath right between his lower left ribs. He gave a little gasp of pain as he watched the aftermath of his work. Massive pillars of fire lit up the sky in a display that would have made Sephiroth's Stigma attack look like child's sparklers.

Mal closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as he pulled the arrow from the wound. Blood flowed much quicker than he expected. He muttered a curse as he lamented on his inability to cast healing spells.

While Mal was examining his own wounds, the subject of the extent of the creatures never crossed his mind. Unfortunately, it is unwise to turn your attention away form your opponent in battle, for chances are they will not turn their attention from you.

The creature surged forward and clipped Mal across the face with its big twisted hand and sent him flying backwards head over feet into the water. Pain ripped through him as salt hit his wound. After taking a second to catch his bearings the surprise shifted into anger. If it was one thing Mal did not like it was humiliation.

"We have to help him!" Kairi cried.

"I think he can handle himself." Riku replied.

Gingerly taking a stand, Mal got to his feet. His hand gave a reflexive contraction and a key blade appeared. Its sleek gray, gold and white form fit perfectly in his hand, as if it had been specially formed. He stared at it in shock. A mixed feeling of awe and disgust assaulted him. This was not something he expected nor was it something he wanted.

On one hand he had been chosen to wield one of the greatest weapons in existence; fate had trusted him with its power and responsibility. On the other hand this meant he was a key bearer. It meant he was like _him, _something he never wanted to be in any way shape or form.

Mal had never been a warrior and had never claimed to be. His role was more of a mage but that did not stop him from feeling humiliated as the creature got another cheap shot in. getting up from the water a second time, he let a massive Flare attack lose on the creature.

A bright light encircled the creature and instead of releasing a heart-as most heartless or nobodies do- the light began to shrink in on itself until there was nothing but a dark haired boy lying unconscious in the sand.

He was not the only combatant have fought themselves into oblivion. As soon as he cast Flare, Mal hit the water face first. No one could tell if that was due to his wounds, over exertion during the fight, or a combination of the two.

Living on an island world caused the school system to add a CPR class to the list of mandatory classes students had to take. For this Riku was grateful, as he pulled his fellow keybearers out of the water. Seeing as how the boy had the complexion of a neoshadow, it was difficult to tell if he was turning blue. Despite that Riku was sure it the process was called for when it was noted that Mal wasn't breathing.

Once Riku was done reviving him, Sora brought over some of the few potions they had left over from their previous adventure. It would do no good to have him breathing again just to have him bleed out.

As the boys were doing that, Kairi and her mother rushed over to the other boy in an effort to help. When they turned him over they saw that no trace of his formally monstrous visage was left. Instead he was rather hansom. Dark hair and a delicate face were offset by a series of red tattoos that framed his face.

"Where am I?" He asked groggily as he woke. It took him a moment to open his eyes. He had a monster headache that made even the dull light of the stars seem ultra bright.

"Destiny Islands. What's the last thing you remember?" Izzy asked. It was not the first time she tried to get to the bottom of a weird situation.

James Stark hadn't always paid attention in class, but he was sure he had never heard of Destiny Islands. Maybe it was somewhere down in Florida? Or was those islands called The Keys? He couldn't really remember. Not that he was trying too hard, his headache made it impossible to do much thinking.

"The House of Night was attacked by some sort of creature. They weren't raven mockers, that's for sure. Next thing I know I'm in some white room with this guy in a lab coat standing over me and this woman laughing and then nothing."

Riku and Sora shared a look. Raven mockers and the House of Night were things they had never heard of but the guy in the lab coat did ring a bell.

"This guy, did he have long white hair and yellow eyes?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, how did you know? Have you met him before?" Stark still hadn't completely caught his bearings.

"Unfortunately." Riku muttered before turning to Sora, "It's Xehanort, It has to be."

Izzy raised a delicate eyebrow at the name. They could not be talking about the same Xehanort she had known as a young woman. Even then he was a creepy old man and must surely be dead by now. Despite her curiosity Izzy did not ask. The question would bring up too many in retaliation. Too many she was not ready or willing to answer.

"Look, I appreciate the concern but I have to get back. Does anyone know how to get to Tulsa?"

"You probably can't." A voice from behind the group sounded. Mal was being blunt and truthful; a deadly combination.

"What do you mean?" Stark's voice raised a bit at the shadow man's words. He had responsibilities and duties at home to take care of. He could not afford to lounge around some tropical island forever, no matter how appealing the notion may seem.

"Your home is probably gone. That's what those creatures-the heartless- do. They take the heart of the world until there is nothing and no one left. You could say that you're one of the lucky ones."

"Don't worry; we'll be able to get it back. We got our home back." Sora did not notice the miniscule change his words had brought to Riku's face. He may have begun to forgive himself for what he did, but that did not mean he needed to be reminded of it.

"Hate to interrupt this little pity fest, but I have to go. I just wanted to say thanks for the patch job." Mal said. He was getting behind schedule and he had a lot to do if all the pieces were to be in place on time.

Mal turned to leave. He knew that if he were to stay too long he would tip his hand too much.

"Wait." Kairi called "Can I ask you a question first?" Mal turned to look at her.

"Of course. Who am I to deny a princess? But it must be just one, so make it count." He was acting a bit more brazen then usual but it was not in an attempt to be rude. One could not be rude to royalty without committing treason, after all. Mal was the only one to notice the slight tensing of Izzy's shoulders when he called Kairi 'Princess.'

"How did you know?" She asked. He could tell it was one of many questions she had but she took his words to heart and chose only the most pressing to her mind.

"How did I know what?" Mal asked in an attempt to clarify her meaning. How did he know she was a princess? Or perhaps she meant how did he know about the heartless.

"That we needed help." He gave a little smile at her question; of all the things to ask.

"I have a friend who knows a lot more then she should. Go to Radiant Garden, you might just meet someone interesting." Although Kairi could not see the features of his face, she could tell by the nuances of his voice that he was smiling.

And with that he melted away into the darkness without so much as giving them an opportunity to say good-bye.

The moment he was away a new voice came running over to the motley crew.

"Phew. I thought I was goin'a be too late!" Exclaimed Mickey Mouse.

* * *

"I did not want this!" Mal snarled at Aero the second he entered her sanctuary.

If the action were possible she would have rolled her eyes at his antics. He could whine and cry over his destiny but that would not change it. Destiny was impossible to change; Aero had tried.

"I thought you wanted to be as far from the person your mother wanted you to be as you could. Think of this as a giant leap forward." She mused aloud. Her nonchalance only served to enrage him even more.

"Yes but not at the expense of becoming like _him!" _The thought sent chills of disgust twisting down his spine.

"Being like him may not be a bad thing," Aero sighed, continuing before Mal had a chance to protest, "I mean, it's better than being like your mother. You must face facts; you father was a keybearer and so are you. He's a very well respected keybearer and mage, and so won't you be."

"I want nothing to do with that-" he was practically spitting with every word, but in truth deep within his heart he was flattered to be chosen. The parallels, however, were simply too much.

"You know Mal, you have never met the man. The only opinion you have of him is the one your mother gave you. If you don't trust anything she says, then why trust that? I haven't met him but Master Eraqus always spoke very highly of him." Aero offered.

"Didn't your precious master Eraqus try and kill one-no wait, two- of your best friends including your precious Terra?" Mal retaliated, the venom more than evident in his voice.

"Well, nobody is perfect." She muttered happily; she was not going to show how much his comment hurt her.

"Whatever. While you sit here playing devil's advocate, I have someone's sister to save from the dark." He retorted before sauntering off into the darkness.

"Cranky little bastard, now isn't he?" She muttered to herself once he was gone.

* * *

If Izzy found it odd to have an oversized rodent sitting at her kitchen table having a cup of tea, she gave no indication of it. To all who observed her it seemed as if she were merely entertaining an old acquaintance.

She, the three children, the king, and Stark all sat around the kitchen table, some of them sitting on overturned buckets or stepping stools.

Things were scarily quite as she took the first sip of her tea.

"You should probably leave before your parents get back. Jenny would be difficult if she knew you were leaving again."

Riku felt kind of guilty for leaving his mother like that but it had to be done. Ever since his father had left her and their four boys when Riku was six, Jenova had become more than a little overbearing especially towards her youngest.

"You don't seem too surprised about all this." Kairi asked. She had never been one to question her mother, especially about things she thought she wouldn't get an answer for but there were simply too many questions not to ask.

Izzy stared into her tea cup for a moment debating with herself on how to answer. She did not want to lie to Kairi but she was not ready for the truth- or perhaps it was Izzy that was not ready to share. In either case the end result was the same.

"Destiny is never left to chance," she muttered and Kairi knew she would get no more.

"You guys should go, just please be careful. If your foe is who you say he is he will stop at nothing to destroy you. And I could not handle that pain again," She turned to Stark before continuing, "Come on, you did say that you can't be in the sun, didn't you? Sunrise is in fifteen minutes and I don't have a basement. Looks like you and I are going to have to borrow Skylar's."

"Dad's not home, he and mom are still at her nurses' convention and the doors are locked. I was supposed to be staying with Riku and his mom but something came up with his brothers…" Sora tried to explain, but Izzy just cracked a smile.

"I know Sora. Your dad is horribly predictable and always has been. I'm sure I can find a key that will work. "

* * *

The dark meridian was a lonely place. Aqua knew this. It was easy to look out to the sunless sea and forget any notion of time or self. How long had she been sitting here? How long since the old man was able to leave? She could not answer.

All she could do was sit and wait.

"Aqua?" A foreign voice asked from the shadows behind her. She turned to look at her visitor and saw that he was dressed in the same leather coat that the old man had been.

"Yes. Do I know you?" She asked attentively. So few people inhabited the realm of darkness and even fewer of them where what could be called friendly.

"No, but I know you- or more like I know of you. I happen to know a certain lavender haired teenager that won't stop talking about you. Or Ventus. Or Terra."

"You know Aero?" She exclaimed.

"Your sister is fine but things one of your friends isn't. Terra will not last too much longer against Xehanort, and you must help him." His voice had a sympatric quality that did not downplay the urgency of it.

"How?" She demanded. If something-anything- were to happen to her friends…

"Come with me. A new adventure waits." The stranger said, extending a long thin arm out to her. Despite knowing so little about the man, she knew in her heart of hearts that she had little choice.


	5. Chapter Four: Nouns Part One: Interestin

No reviews for the last chapter was not a motivating concept. I had actually convinced myself that I had forgotten to upload it before I went on vacation but, alas, it was not so. Oh well. Now I have to resort to desperate measures; bribery.

I have made a free website with bonus scenes form the story. Every chapter (except the prelude) has a little bonus story to go with it. Their just about a page each but they are full of little hints and just enough spoilers to drive you crazy.

Hears the catch. The only way to get to each story is by having the direct URL. There are no links. So if you leave a review that is either signed or has a working email, then I will send you the link to that chapter. I do plain to backtrack with the reviews I have now. I just want to give people enough time to see this that way I don't look like a weirdo.

This chapter's bonus: Izzy's confrontation with Xehanort from Terra's POV.

* * *

Nouns Part One: Interesting People

* * *

Radiant Garden had been famous not only for being one of the greatest hubs of knowledge in all the worlds but also for being one of the most beautiful places in existence. Anyone with the ability to travel between worlds eventually found themselves there at some point or another if only to follow up on rumors the place's magnificence. Dozens of fountains and gardens lined the streets and the prismatic castle that gave the world its name and light seemed to shine form everywhere.

Unfortunately, the more something shines with the light, the more the dark gets jealous. The more difficult it becomes for the thing to escape unscathed when the dark attacks and Radiant Garden was no exception. Quite the contrary, it was the quintessential example.

When the king's treacherous apprentices were through having their way with it, there was nothing left. Only a few rocks and the twisted remnants of the once glorious castle survived. Not even the apprentices themselves survived intact.

After its resurrection over a year ago it had become beautiful again. It was not the perfectly manicured beauty of before, but rather the beauty that comes from the peace of mind of having everyone work together. The rubble had become a town; a town of shanties and patch buildings. The once pristine castle was now rigged with several massive cranes.

Something inside Kairi wept when she saw it. She could not say why, only that it no longer felt right to her. As if there was something missing from the picture; as what she had thought of as the heart of the place was gone.

This was her birthplace and yet she remembered nothing, except the slightest recollection of a large library and an old woman; one far too old to be her mother and a bed time story that had far too much truth to it.

Sora seemed to know his way around well enough to act as a guide where Kairi's memory failed her. He took great pleasure in being able to actually show them where the stories had happened and the new friends that made them possible.

Sora introduced them to a broody looking young man by the name of Leon who turned out to be a lot less intimidating then she has originally imagined. The conversation was brief and consisted mostly of him suggesting that the teens go up to the castle to talk with Ansem.

The castle its self filled Kairi with such a sense of nostalgia that it actually almost physically hurt. Everywhere she looked her heart started to ache as if there were things it wanted to remember but couldn't no matter how hard it tried.

As she walked through the corridors with Sora and Riku and the King something began to pull at her; telling her to go down a smaller hallway to the right. Kairi didn't mention it to anyone before she decided it best to follow her heart.

The feeling led her to a small bedroom of sorts, although it was hard to tell with all the dusty books stacked organized and neatly on almost surface as if it hadn't been touched in almost a decade. The small size of the single bed in the corner told her that the room had been for some one young. She had spent a lot of time here but it had not been her room.

What Kairi did not notice was a small white creature hovering near the ceiling. It was reminiscent of a cross between a dandelion and a baby octopus. It glowed with a soft white light and the room changed for Kairi.

The ghostly forms of two small children became superimposed over the room. It was almost as if someone had turned on one of the projectors they used at school. A small boy wearing an oversized lab coat with a serious face and grayish purple hair sat at the desk reading some impossibly massive book.

The young girl entered the room from where Kairi was standing and she recognized her in an instant. It was her; a younger version of Kairi. She looked upset. The boy must have picked up on it because he looked up from his tome but said nothing; he was waiting for her to speak first.

"Why are they fighting?" She asked in a small, hurt voice.

It took him a moment to reply. In a direct, curt voice he said, "Your mother does not like Ansem's new apprentice." To anyone else the tone would have seemed rude, but for him it must have been the norm for it didn't faze her at all.

"I don't like him either. He looks like Terra but he's not." The boy had no reply so it was impossible to tell if he agreed or not.

"Ienzo, when is Terra coming back? He promised he would come visit soon." She asked. It obvious to the older Kairi that the boy must have been very smart if he was trusted to answer those questions. He couldn't have been much older the girl.

"He most likely isn't." His voice held no emotion and his face was once again buried in his book. Kairi-the memory Kairi- knew that it meant that Ienzo did not want to think about the answer after he gave it; as if it were as painful to say as it was to hear.

"He'll come back, I know he will. He promised." Kairi corrected him with no offence to his answer. She did not see it as him lying to her, more as a simple mistake.

Ienzo, despite his age, was not the kind of child to frivolously hope or wish on anything but this time he could not stop himself. Whatever stars were falling, whatever wishbones existed, and whatever budding flowered were ready to have their seeds scattered became the object of his silent prayers. He wanted Terra back just as much as Kairi did.

"Kairi?" Riku's voice startled her out of her trance and with her concentration broken the images vanished like smoke in the wind.

"Sorry. I just thought I saw something interesting." She muttered. Now was not the time to try and explain.

As she turned to leave something corporeal caught her interest. It was a framed photograph sitting on the dresser. It had to be the only truly personal touch in the entire room. Several inches of dust made the image obscure.

"Riku!" she called out handing him the picture. With most of the dust gone the picture was visible. Over half a dozen faces smiled up out of the frame and Riku recognized every single one of them.

It was organization XIII. Or at least their somebodies. The older ones were in the back: Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaus….but what really stood out was Xehanort. Or at least who had to be Xehanort. He stood off the side, away from the other apprentices and closer to the small group of young children that encompassed one entire side of the photograph. He was not the Xehanort Riku knew. His usually amber eyes and stark white hair had been replaced with deep blue eyes and rich brown hair. There was a kindness and warmth to his face that did not belong.

What was really surprising about the photo was the fact that not only the organization was included. Front and center near the rest of the children was a young red headed girl that Riku knew only so well. Kairi.

The two friends shared a look of shock and confusion for a moment before they were interrupted by a certain spiky haired young man.

"What 'cha doing?" He asked poking his head in the door.

Riku opened his mouth to answer but Kairi beat him to it.

"I'll tell you later." Something inside told her that now was neither the time nor place for the conversation. There were too many ghosts that haunted her in that room and too many strings being pulled in her heart.

Silently they made their way closer to the basement laboratory that Ansem had so adored. Kairi could not get the image and the photograph out of her mind. The fact that she could not remember anything before arriving on the beach on Destiny Island had never really bothered her before. Why should she miss what she never knew she had? But now… now that she had snippets dangled in front of her that the story was a little different.

Suddenly she stopped. The creature she never saw had followed her and when its feathery soft tentacles brushed across her face a new image appeared.

Her mother was standing at the opposite end of the hallway; she had to have been at least a decade younger but something in her face made her seem much older. A sadness and defeat hid behind her eyes in a way that suggested prodigy had recently been her visitor. A younger Kairi-maybe six years old- hid behind her mother's skirts.

About a dozen feet or so closer to where the older version of Kairi stood was a young man, Xehanort. His back was turned away from the woman as if he had been walking and something she had said forced him to stop.

"Excuse me?" Xehanort asked ever so politely but without turning around.

"You're not him. No matter what Ansem seams to hope or what Ienzo suspects or any of that. You. Are. Not. Terra." Izzy's voice was solid and firm but something inside Kairi saw that it took a lot out of her to say those words. Apparently she was not the only one to see it.

"You sound almost as if you are trying to convince yourself of that fact, my lady." he quipped.

In an instant the smallest nuances of his posture changed, his voice became smoother, and, although Izzy could not see it-only future Kairi was at the right angle- his eyes took on a slightly bluish tinge that made him seem closer to the brown haired boy in the photograph.

"If you think I'm such trouble then why have you not taken your daughter and gotten as far away from me as you possibly can? It would be the logical choice after all." Kairi could see during the beefiest instant that his eyes were blue, that something about his actions pained him. But as soon as the look appeared it vanished and Xehanort continued on his way.

"Okay, Terra I get it. This is your fight. I just wish you would let me help you." She whispered to herself as the image faded.

"And you must be the lovely Kairi that I've heard so much about." A kind looking old man with white hair said in introduction. Kairi had seen him before but could not place where.

"Nice to meet you. And you are?" She said reaching out her hand to shake.

After the introductions were done Riku begin to explain to the old man what had happened on Destiny Island. Ansem did not seem surprised that his old apprentice would take that path.

"It seems logical. Xehanort attacking the home of his enemies." he muttered.

"I was afraid I wouldn't get there in time, but they didn't even need me," Mickey volunteered before explaining about the boy in the black coat.

"Curious. I believe it was the same young man who rescued me from the dark realm."

"Then he must be a friend!" The mouse exclaimed.

"Not necessarily," Ansem corrected, "There was a young lady in the dark margin with me. When he rescued me he refused to bring her as well. He cited it not being the best time as his reasons. That along with the comment he made to you, my old friend, about pawns points to him having his own agenda."

"Is that really so wrong, especially if our agenda's happen to coincide?" Mal asked from the corner. He had just finished what he had to do with Aqua and figured he would take a look at what everyone else was doing when he heard himself being talked about most unfavorably. So, of course he had to put his two cents in.

"Look, about Aqua, I couldn't bring her yet because a physic friend of my-" he began to explain but Riku cut him off.

"A physic?" Mal found it more than slightly hypocritical of him to judge him for his odd friends but he said nothing.

"Don't knock it till you've tried it. Anyway, my friend told me that I was going to have to save your butts from that creature. Wished she would have warned me about the Keyblade though. Then I went to get Aqua. And about the whole 'Pawns' comment, so what if I like to be a little cryptic. I guess that's what I get for having a friend who knows almost everything.

"Look, if you still don't trust me, then go into the last room on the right in your apprentices' not-so-secret-lab and get Aqua. Tell her that I'm working with Aero and that we're working to put Ventus and Terra back together again." Mal gave Ansem the disk that would allow them to follow his directions and turned to leave.

"Waite, you know Terra?" Kairi asked.

Mal turned. What would a princess of heart know about Terra? And better yet why wasn't she asking Ansem? He would know more.

"You do?"

She nodded before answering the 'how' question she knew came next.

"They were talking about him in this memory I saw. At least I think it was a memory, but at the same time it looked like a movie playing over the room," she explained, wanting so much to have the incident explained. Something in her heart told her it was important. Weather the 'it' was the vision or what it showed she could not say, but either way she had to know.

"Kairi," Riku warned, "we don't know if we can trust him."

"But he has a Keyblade." Kairi retorted.

"So didn't Xehanort." He gently reminded her.

"Hey! First, don't _ever _compare me to him. He was a conniving fucking leach with or without his memories. Second, he hasn't been able to use a Keyblade since he lost his when Terra screwed up his memories. And good riddance, the last thing we need is him with a Keyblade. Third, that was the first time I summoned a Keyblade so it was just as much a surprise to me as it was to you." Mut did not know what made him think he had to explain himself but for some reason they had to know. They had to see him as something-anything-other than a bad guy.

"Look, just follow my advice and take a look underground. Things are going to start to unravel soon enough anyways," and with that he left everyone just standing in the middle of Ansem's lab. There was nothing left to do.

* * *

"What were you doing in Zexion's childhood bedroom? Does your mother know you were there?" Mal asked before stepping completely out of the dark corridor. It was dangerous for him to be here and yet he was not frightened. Mut would not tell and The Castle That Never Was was a big place with few inhabitants. Getting in and out unseen was not difficult.

The young child did not look up from his coloring book but the bright blue crayon stilled at the voice. Most six year olds would have piles of toys and games lining their bedroom, but not him. He was not allowed. His mother would not be pleased if she even saw the crayons.

"You're trying to find them, aren't you?" Mal whispered.

Mut just nodded, never looking up. He never looked up. He wasn't supposed to. His mother had always taught him that kids had no business looking adults in the eye.

"You can't find them. And even if you did, most of them wouldn't help." Mal was trying to be kind to the child-he knew perhaps better than most that he was the only one who cared- but Mut, despite his advanced intelligence, was too young to understand.

For the first time Mut looked up. His bright blue eyes looked so heartbroken that Mal himself had to look away.

"But if I don't then Mother will never love me!" He cried. Mal didn't have the heart to tell him the truth: that his mother was incapable of love in any way, shape, or form. She was, in essence, born a nobody-a heartless monster-but Mal understood the desire for a mother's love. Especially when it was so difficult to see them for what they were.

"Well… you should at least start with the ones that actually wanted to help Xehanort. They will be more willing to help again. If I remember correctly Ienzo wasn't exactly the first to sign up and all that mess with Roxas will not make Lea any more willing." If felt weird supplying the kid with information he knew would be used against them, but what else could he do. Mut did not deserve the hand he was dealt but that did not mean he did not have to play it, it just meant that he was going to have to play it well.

"Can you help me?" Again with those accursed blue eyes. Mal suddenly could understand how Aero was willing to do anything for Terra.

"I'll see what I can do. But if you tell your mother our idea, she might know who to start with and a way to track them down. Apparently you tracking them by their memories isn't working." Mal found himself offering despite his better judgment, but the euphoric look on the kids face made it worth it.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Mut practically bounced.

Mal took the kid into his arms to give him a monster hug. How such a child of the light could have been dammed to live in such darkness was well beyond his comprehension.

"Just don't tell your mother were you got the idea from," he warned, running his hand through the boy's power white spikes of hair, "it wouldn't help you gain her love you if she knew you were talking to me."

The newfound keyblader closed his eyes and silently prayed that he wasn't making things worse for the kid in the long run.

* * *

There is a cookie up for grabs to anyone who can figure out what the dandelion/baby octopus thing is. Here's a hint: they played a pretty big role in one of the biggest movies of the decade. Good luck.


End file.
